Alico sells 11,600 acres

FORT MYERS — Agribusiness company Alico has agreed to sell a conservation easement totaling 11,600 acres in Hendry County to the federal government for $20.7 million.

Fort Myers-based Alico says it will earn a capital gain of $19.5 million on the transaction, which will offset some of the recent losses sustained on the sale of land in neighboring Lee County. The easement sale to the government is scheduled to be completed during the company's 2013 fiscal year.

The deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls for the Hendry land to be held as wetlands in perpetuity. However, Alico will retain the mineral and water rights on the property as well as the use of it for fishing and hunting, the company says.

Alico is an agriculture and land-management company that grows citrus, sugarcane and cattle. The company owns more than 130,000 acres in Collier, Glades, Lee, Hendry and Polk counties.